India attends intra-Afghan peace talks in Doha, calls for safeguarding interest of minorities

New Delhi, Sep 12: India attended the historic intra-Afghan Peace talks in Doha on Saturday with External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar asserting that the peace process must ensure "interest of minorities, women and the vulnerable" and be "Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled".
Dr Jaishankar who participated in the deliberations through videoconferencing, said the peace process must respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and promote human rights and democracy.
It should also effectively address violence across the country, he added.
"Addressed the conference on Afghan peace negotiations at Doha today. Conveyed that the peace process must: Be Afghan-led, Afghan-owned and Afghan-controlled,Respect national sovereignty and territorial integrity of Afghanistan,Promote human rights and democracy (sic),’’ the External Affairs Minister tweeted.
He said the friendship between the peoples of India and Afghanistan is a testimony to the shared history between the two countries.
"No part of Afghanistan is untouched by our 400 plus developmental projects," he said and expressed confidence that this "civilizational relationship" would continue to grow.
While Dr Jaishankar participated in the conference through videoconferencing, J P Singh, Joint Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry, flew to Doha to be physically present in the meeting.
India had also attended the signing ceremony of the US-Taliban Peace talks in Doha in February.
The peace talks began after months of delay because an agreement on swapping of prisoners could not be reached between the parties involved—Afghanistan government and Taliban .